Plastic packaging accounts for almost half of plastic used in the UK yet by nature it’s ‘single use’ and much of it isn’t or even can’t be recycled.

With the government launching a tax system for businesses that produce or import plastic packaging in 2022, there is more pressure than ever on companies to reduce use of plastic packaging and find alternative solutions.

The pressure isn’t just coming from the government, though, as consumers are also increasingly taking notice of the amount of plastic in packaging and products they use, and many want drastic changes. 

Our Great Green Sustainability Study found that 68% of consumers feel the use of plastic in packaging should be banned, while most consumers have also been changing their behaviours in the last year to reduce their use of single use plastics:

We also found that the majority of consumers feel the two most important players in tackling climate change are the government and manufacturers, with many in our focus groups claiming that the government should place stricter regulations on manufacturers. This suggests that the new tax will be welcomed by consumers as a step in the right direction. However, the government will likely also come under pressure to do more to regulate plastic use to reduce the amount of single use plastic in the system.

To find out more about our Great Green Sustainability Study, contact Tom Gould, Head of Consumer, on tom.gould@impactmr.com